The story of an activist who tried to escape from the police on public transport

That weekend I was detained twice. The first was on Saturday, February 9th. We were planning an action in support of Open Russia , we made a beautiful banner, but we didn’t have time to unfurl it. We were going to meet at Subway on Dekabristov Street, and an officer in civilian clothes was already sitting there. There was a gazelle with tinted windows, the cops and “cosmonauts” came (law enforcement officers in protective helmets - OVD-Info ). They began to take everyone away, and I walked away from the gazelle, quickly walked to the stop and got on the bus. From the window I saw how the guys were led away, wringing their hands, as if they were some kind of terrorists . I was riding on this bus with upset feelings, I drove like this for about 10 minutes. The bus stops at a red traffic light, on both sides of the car, someone demands to open the doors, the cops enter the bus and take me straight from there.

They kept us at the department for three hours and released us. Apparently they wanted to take away the banner: we made a very beautiful banner, just a work of art. And we decided to try the campaign again. They quickly made another banner on their knees, not so beautiful. We went to Nevsky to choose a place and do something else , and behind us there was just a crowd of ashniks. There were so many of them, they were never fired at all, as if they had been recruited for work based on an advertisement. They followed us, ran after journalists. We were very tired, it didn’t matter to us where to go. We go out with a banner onto Malaya Sadovaya, and opposite us are the cops. Well, we passed about three seconds.

Our guys ran again, the cops rushed after them. But I didn’t run, I again walked sideways onto the sidewalk. I have a banner in my hands, but no one is following me. And again I calmly get on the bus and leave. This time I already reached home. They, apparently, want to throw them down, wring their hands, roll in the snow, with their faces on the asphalt, that’s all. And if this happens to me, it will probably be scary. Maybe that's why I was able to leave.

On Sunday there was a “March of Mother's Wrath”, where I was detained even before the march began. They were detained by people in helmets, among them there was a young girl with pasted-on eyelashes and a braid. She was very proud of her work, had a feminist attitude, and said: “I’m so great, I pulled along with everyone else, yes, I can!”

They brought me to the 28th department. They didn’t explain anything to me there, but I was sure that I was detained for the march. Three hours pass, and we have the following dialogue with the police:

- Well, guys, I’m getting up and leaving now, okay? You have no protocol, nothing.

- Yeah, now I’m really running away. We sit and remain silent.

- So, what, what exactly is the matter?

- That's it, we have the right to 48 hours.

And then I realized that differently events were turning out . They left me overnight, in the evening Dinar (human rights activist Dinar Idrisov - OVD-Info ) with Sasha Mironov broke through to me, but then they didn’t even draw up a report on me, and they left.

Seven hours after the arrest they brought me a report. I read it and see that they arrested me for the Saturday action. The protocol, of course, contained some nonsense , I refused to sign it, this girl with the scythe went broke, I went broke too.

And then Nastya Burakova, a lawyer for Open Russia, came to me, they didn’t let her in for two and a half hours. This woman with eyelashes and a braid was replaced by a local police officer, I show her where it is written incorrectly in the protocol, and I say: “I have a lawyer standing here right now. Let her come in and we’ll quickly sign everything together.” I understand that there is not much difference whether to sign or not to sign. And then the local police officer went and made an agreement, and they let Nastya in.

This was the first protocol, it was written that I had part 6.1 (Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code, participation in an action that interfered with the movement of vehicles and pedestrians - OVD-Info ). Nastya and I took a photo of the protocol, and she left.

The next day Dinar comes to me and asks: “When were you in the prosecutor’s office?” It turned out that before that he wanted to get into the department, and he was told that I was in the prosecutor’s office. In fact, I was in the department and sitting there. And he was driving around the city, looking for me. Probably, the person on duty at that moment just wanted someone to leave him alone right now.

Then the local police officer comes with a sorrowful face and says: “Yes, Svetlana Anatolyevna... You were afraid of this eighth part, and now we’ll reclassify it for that.” She gives me a second protocol, which says that I have a repeated violation (rules of the event, part 8 of article 20.2 of the Administrative Code - OVD-Info ). I sign it, I want to keep the first protocol for myself, but she very deftly snatches it from my hands and quickly tears it. I don’t know why she did it, I still have a photo of him anyway.

I could have been sent to court on the same day. I am a PRG (a voting member of the election commission - OVD-Info ), so the prosecutor’s office had to give its consent to this. And she gave, but began to delay with some other pieces of paper.

I thought that they did this on purpose so that I would spend two days in the department. Everyone knows that sitting in a department is torture. This is great in special detention centers - I equate them to one-star hotels. And in the department so-so. Over the course of two days, I was once offered a “homeless package . ” That’s exactly what they called it, not “Doshirak” or “hot food”, but “homeless package” . I haven't seen anyone else offer them at all. I refused, but I don’t think others would have refused.

I saw how the guys in the next cell asked for water - they were asked to go and get water in the toilet. They did just that. When I asked for a mattress, they told me: “We don’t have a temporary detention facility here” (temporary detention center - OVD-Info ). Instead of a mattress, they gave me a thin, thin blanket. It gives absolutely nothing, but creates the illusion of something . They don't take you to the toilet. The person who was under 228 (article on the acquisition and possession of drugs - OVD-Info ) very intelligently asked: “Excuse me, please, this is the case here, I need to go to the toilet.” Nobody reacted. God knows how many hours later they opened the door for him and it turned out that he had pooped in some cups Coca -Cola . And they were wildly indignant. Why they were indignant, I don’t know.

On Tuesday I was taken to court an hour before the 48 hours were up. (Human rights activist Dinar Idrisov later clarified that by the time Utkina was taken to court, five minutes remained before the expiration of 48 hours, and she found herself in court at a time when, by law, she could no longer be held in custody without a court decision. - OVD- Info ) The guards pretended to be something , led me by the arms, dragged me, bullied me. We drove up to the court, they saw Dinar in the distance and began to curse at him. I hear Idrisov come up and ask: “Aren’t you taking Utkin?” They say: "No." I started banging on the door, but he didn't hear.

The hearing was postponed at the request of the defense. Then they postponed it again - my defenders asked to summon Sentemov and Fedorenko to court - these are our two main experts. Sentemov (senior lieutenant Ruslan Sentemov - OVD-Info ) usually works on Malaya Sadovaya on single pickets. And Fedorenko (chief police lieutenant colonel Evgeniy Fedorenko - OVD-Info ) is such an eminence grise, he simply molds all these cases.

At first I thought that it was just the luck of my defenders that only our witnesses were called. And then our other detainee, Alexander Ilyin, also had his hearing postponed and everyone was summoned. Now I think that this is the general line of who runs this court. Apparently, everyone had the task of adjourning and calling witnesses. Although, of course, it is not clear why they do this.